-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Lew  (劉聖傑)
Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2005 2:02 AM
Subject: Triangle of Life - how to survive an earthquake

FYI. Some important messages that disputes the facts to stand under the door or table in case of an earthquake.

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team
International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

When buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes
these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life".
The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the
void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured.

The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They
are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building. They are everywhere.

TIPS DOUG COPP PROVIDES:

1)
Everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE is crushed to death -- Every
time, without exception. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are always crushed.

2)
Cats, dogs and babies all naturally often curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an
earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get
next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a
void next to it.

3)
Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. The reason is
simple: the wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building
does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated,
crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries
but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4)
If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will
exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by
posting a sign on the backof the door of everyroom, telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to
the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5)
If an earthquake happens while you are watching television and you cannot easily escape by getting
out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6)
Everybody who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a
doorway and the door jam falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the
door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7)
Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of quency" (they swing separately from the
main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into
each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before
they fail are chopped up by the stair treads. They are horribly mutilated. Even if the building
doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be
damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when
overloaded by screaming, fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the
rest of the building is not damaged.

8)
Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible. It is much better to be near the
outside of the building rather than the interior.  The farther inside you are from the outside
perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9)
People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their
vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The
victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed.
They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles, says the
author. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit
or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars
that had columns fall directly across them.

10)
I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of
paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper. I hope this
useful information is never needed.